Scar
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: He realized only too late. He was hyperaware of her touch as it roamed across his skin, but he'd forgotten one of the most recent scars, one that she wouldn't know, one that she didn't need to see. *Rated T to be safe.


**A/N: Finally got a chance to snag a computer and get this up. I've had it for days! Almost a week, actually. I just haven't had time to get on and post this. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any associated characters.**

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><p><em><span>Scar<span>_

His hands moved along her body as her fingers skim across his freckled features. His skin was so smooth; a shiver ran along her spine as his soft hands rests on her hips. His touch was just so perfect...

And he felt her fingers running along his cheek, the other hand at the back of his neck, pulling his head in closer so that their lips met and they seemed to almost smother each other. He winced for a moment as she touched a fresh wound on his cheek with the second hand, and the pain shot into his cheek. He tried to melt into her to escape the moment of hurt...

She felt him stiffen and moved away quickly, her fingers wandering elsewhere. They found an old scar down by his jaw line. She let him relax again before pressing her lips in harder. She knew exactly how he got that scar. It almost scared her when she found another so close to it and knew how that one was put there just the same...

His hands slid from her waist up to the small of her back and rested there. He just needed to get away from his own mind for a while, drift away from all the harder memories. He pulled her body even closer, her chest tight against his so that he couldn't hardly breathe...

The first scar, she knew, was delivered after she smacked him particularly hard one time with a ring on. She was smacking him on purpose, but she hadn't intended to make him bleed. The physical injury hadn't been intended; she'd only wanted to wound his pride...

His memory of that scar was her slapping him after one of their earlier arguments. That was before any of this had happened, before their first kiss, before they'd found something honest in each other. She'd slapped him, the ring on her pinky finger had been spun wrong, and a little rip had been made in his flesh, about two centimeters long and was letting out a small trickle of blood. His green eyes had flared angrily and then with worry when he saw the panic on her face at the sign of dripping crimson...

She knew she gave him the second scar as well. A stray arrow had clipped him, more towards his ear. A long slit had been cut open, but it was shallow enough that the scar was faint and white. Speedsters weren't always the greatest to work with, especially when they seemed to get in the way of her shots. She'd been the first at his side while Robin watched their backs. She'd ripped a cuff off the leg of her uniform and wiped the worst of the blood off. Then the place had exploded, and he'd carried her unconscious body out of there. She had yet to repay him for that, for saving her life...

The only thing he recalled was gently putting her down and trying to staunch the blood flow from where a piece of shrapnel had stabbed right into her stomach. He knew where all her scars were...

She felt his urgency and kissed back a little harder, biting at his lower lip and making sure he knew she was there, that she didn't want to leave him, that this was something real, that this was never going to fade. Her fingers continued to run along his skin, down his neck...

He realized only too late. He was hyperaware of her touch as it roamed across his skin, but he'd forgotten one of the most recent scars, one that she wouldn't know, one that she didn't need to see. He tensed, but she'd already found it. He paused and let his emerald eyes open to feel her lips pulling away from his and to see concern flicker across her perfect features...

"Wally." It was the way she said it, heartbroken and hurt. She watched his eyes grow dark before he tore his gaze away from her, shame burning his cheeks a pale pink. "Wally, talk to me." She'd found bruises and scars before and hadn't asked questions, but this was long and sleek and still red, still angry. From experience, she knew this was the cut of a knife. It ran along the side of his neck from front to back...

Green orbs dark and penitent, he quietly said, "I didn't do it." For some reason, he felt like he was to blame for it, but he would make sure she knew he wasn't doing this to himself. He would never hurt himself, not when he had something as good as her in his life. She'd given him something to look forward to every day. She'd given him something to care about. She'd given him an angel to dream about in the darkest moments after the most painful blows...

Her fingers ran along the scar again, swift but careful. She knew how deep it had cut, she could guess what style knife had been used, she was aware of how fresh it was. What bothered her was how she hadn't noticed it sooner. She should've noticed it sooner...

"I'm fine, Artemis." His hold on her was relinquished; his hands moved out of the small of her back and onto her hips again. His touch was timid. "I'm fine, I promise." He only wanted her to drop it...

Anger made her voice quiver as she asked, "Who did this to you?" When he didn't answer for a long moment, she asked again, her hand now pressed tight to his neck, almost completely hiding the red scar. "Who did this?" She would kill them. She was supposed to protect him. She was supposed to keep him safe. Too many people hadn't kept her safe, and she'd promised to keep everyone in this new family safe no matter what the cost…

He looked back into her eyes for a split second, and he could see that she wouldn't drop it. She was troubled and livid. Despite the number of scars she'd given him in the year they'd known each other, she would only react nowadays to ones she hadn't delivered or previously seen. This one was new and raw. He couldn't keep it hidden forever. "Artemis, I can take care of myself." He swallowed hard, pain echoing in his eyes. One of his hands pulled away from her hips and pressed to her hand, the one that hid the hideous truth, the one against the angry red scar. "Please let it go." He almost looked like he was going to cry; his green eyes had gone glassy. "Please..."

She shivered and pulled away. Her arms wrapped around her tightly. She fought to keep from crying. She couldn't help him because he wouldn't let her…

He couldn't let her know. He knew too well how she operated; he knew what she'd do. She was trained as an assassin at one point, something he wasn't likely to forget. One hand gingerly reached out and he carefully wrapped one arm around her, then the second and she was tight in his arms. "I'm fine, Artemis," he promised. He held her close, wishing he never had to let go. "I'll be fine." He felt her giving in and leaning into him. He loved to be able to just hold onto her...

She would see that scar for the rest of her life. She would feel it and wish that she could help, but he wouldn't allow it. She gave into him and held on, never shedding a tear, knowing that being there was the best she could do for him. All she could do was hold on...

He kept her close and tried to forget the scar that traced a red line along the side of his neck. All he knew was that he had to be happy he wasn't dead. It was a scar. He was alive. It was just a scar...

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><p><strong>AN: Leave a review.**

**~Sky**

**P.S. In retrospect, I feel like Artemis is a lil' OOC...**


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